Structure Analysis

Thesis Statement

In the opening paragraph [Sec #1], the last sentence points out the plan to protect Arctic sea ice. It mentions the method to scatter a thin layer of reflective glass powder and the purpose protect it from the Sun’s rays and help ice grow back. So the highlighted sentence is the thesis statement.

As planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, some have been driven to explore desperate measures. One proposal put forward by the California-based non-profit Arctic Ice Project appears as daring as it is bizarre: to scatter a thin layer of reflective glass powder over parts of the Arctic, in an effort to protect it from the Sun’s rays and help ice grow back.

Essay Outline

• [Sec. #2] - The melting ice has impacts to the globe, and some scientists are afraid that geoengineering will damage the ecosystem.
  

The key phrase rising sea levels is the statement of the impact of the melting ice, and scientists worry that geoengineering will cause further damage to the ecosystem.

• [Sec. #3] - Field uses silicon to reflect the sunlight and the project has save the ice from melting.
  

The word silicon states the material used in the saving of melting ice, and the phrase encouraging results indicates the success of the project.

• [Sec. #4] - Scientists consider the act is out of well-intention, but some worry about the glass beads may affect the ecosystem.
  

The statements of the worry of the glass beads are that the beads could block sunlight from photosynthesising plankton, and the beads may be eaten by zooplankton.

• [Sec. #5] - The geoengineering plan cannot replace reducing carbon emission.
  

Why geoengineering is not a replacement is that geoengineering only treat single symptoms.

Coherence & Cohesion

[Sec. #2]

Coherence

• Para #1 - As the first paragraph follows the thesis statement, the paragraph first explains why people save the melting sea ice. In the first sentence of the paragraph The melting of the sea ice has... the key phrase The melting of the sea ice is linked to the thesis statement.
• Para #2 - In the first sentence As planet-warming greenhouse gas... the word geoengineering refers to the ice saving plan mentioned in Section #1.

Cohesion

• Para #1 - In the third sentence Some say it’s already disrupting... the author uses a pronoun it to refer the melting of sea ice in the first two sentences and create connection.
• Para #2 - After the first sentence Many scientists frown upon... the author uses a linker however to connect the next sentence the utter lack of... as a contrast.

[Sec. #3]

Coherence

• Para #1 - In this paragraph the first sentence starts with Field launched the Arctic Ice Project..., which is mentioned in Section #2. Then the paragraph elaborates how the project works by explaining the glass beads used in the plan and saying that the young ice will be protected first in the project.
• Para #2 - In the next paragraph the subtopic moves to the result of the project. In the sentence Field doesn’t want to carpet… the particularly fast-melting, vulnerable areas refer to areas where have the young ice and then has a connection to the first paragraph of the same section.

Cohesion

• Para #1 - In the last two sentence She found a manufacturer that turns...the author repeats the keyword beads when describing what the beads are made of, and that is the strategy of repetition.
• Para #2 - In the second sentence For instance, in a pond in Minnesota,… the author uses linker For instance to give an example and elaborate encouraging results in the end of the first sentence.

[Sec. #4]

Coherence

• Para #1 - In the first paragraph of Section #4, the subtopic focuses on worries to the glass beads from other scientists. The second sentence If they float around there… connects to the phrase so they’ll float on water in the first paragraph of Section #3 to state the worries of the floating glass beads. Also the key phrase reflecting sunlight connects to the sentence Depending on how much light the silica beads reflect... pointing out how the floating beads affect the Arctic food chain by blocking sunlight.
• Para #2 - In the next paragraph the subtopic keeps focusing on the glass beads. The phrase to test their impact on plankton ecosystems is linked back to one of the problems about Arctic food chain in first paragraph of the same section.

Cohesion

• Para #1 - In this paragraph, again the author uses the linker word however to point out that some biologists worry about the effect of the glass beads in contrast to Field’s positive attitude toward the glass beads.
• Para #2 - In the last sentence of this paragraph It may be an eye-watering figure…, the author use the pronoun it to refer to the phrase $1-5bn (£800m to £4bn) annual bill, which is mentioned in the prvoius sentence.

[Sec. #5]

Coherence

• Para #1 - In the first sentence of the last paragraph Researchers are exploring the feasibility..., the key word geoengineering appears again, and it is linked to Section #2.

Cohesion

• Para #1 - In the sentence Rather, she sees it as a chance… the author uses the pronoun it to refer to the key word geoengineering.

Take-home Message

In the last paragraph, the author quotes Field’s words. Field agrees that geoengineering cannot solve the climate change issue once and for all, and it is in no way a replacement for reducing carbon emissions. The need to reduce carbon emissions is still urgent, and the geogineering is a way can buy more time for people to reduce carbon emissions.

Researchers are exploring the feasibility of other geoengineering approaches to save the melting Arctic, but none come without problems. One, for instance, would entail building millions of wind-powered devices to pump water from the deep to the ice surface in order to build up thicker layers of ice – which is energy-intensive and might not be very effective, Bitz says. She and Serreze view such approaches as stop-gap solutions to climate change, in that they only treat single symptoms – in the case of silica dust, temperatures – while doing nothing about the root cause of it. If Field’s strategy works as intended, “that’s wonderful,” Bitz says, “but I know that not emitting CO2 in the first place will work.” Field agrees that geoengineering is in no way a replacement for reducing carbon emissions. Rather, she sees it as a chance to buy the time needed for world economies to decarbonise and stave off the worst impacts of climate change. The silica beads, she says, are “the backup plan I hoped we’d never need.”